The Daily Carnage

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Tips for Reddit Campaign Creative

MAY 5, 2023

Last month, we dug into the 9 Reddit ad formats you should be testing. Now, let’s take a look at some tips from Reddit itself to optimize your copy and assets for this unique audience:

Communicate your vision and value proposition. Get straight to the point with messaging that highlights your offer. Use an image that adds value, or simply stick with text. Remove emojis and go for a strong call-to-action with a promo code.
Keep it conversational. The (ideal) Reddit tone is honest, direct, and friendly. Brand messaging should feel like recommendations and advice from a knowledgeable friend.
Throw in some humor or cultural references. This is what earns you figurative and literal points on Reddit. Open with a brand self-aware joke in your headline or acknowledge a trending topic that would resonate with your audience.
Reddit like a Redditor. While you’re here, make yourself at home. Nod and wink to subreddits and even specific users. Redditors love recognition and 69% respect when brands attempt to participate on the platform.
Experiment with headline length. Redditors will tolerate a lengthier headline more than users on other platforms. Avoid writing in title case, include your brand name, and steer clear of emoijs. Your corresponding creative assets should be engaging and not overly corporate.

For more tips—and examples of how to turn your Meta ads into Reddit-ready ads—visit Reddit for Business.

When to Use Fast vs. Slow Ads

MAY 3, 2023

In a series of 4 experiments, scientists were able to reveal something incredible about how we perceive advertising:

Slow ads are effective for highlighting product benefits and quality. People rated a benefit-focused metronome ad 32.8% higher when the metronome hit 30 beats per minute vs. 60 bpm.

Fast ads are effective for highlighting product features and price. People rated a price-focused camera ad 24.7% higher when the ad was sped up to 15 seconds rather than slowed down to 45 seconds.

Why? We tend to perceive objects moving slowly as further away, and we judge them in more abstract terms (think: the why of a product). Conversely, when something appears to move fast, it feels closer to us, and we’re more likely to judge it in more practical terms (think: the how of a product). Plus, we’re simply quicker at assessing a good deal (price) than we are at parsing how a product might improve our lives.

Dig into this fascinating research with Ariyh.

First-Party Data and Experiential Marketing

MAY 2, 2023

Capture first-party data at your branded events and experiential activations to ensure that your customer interactions aren’t simply one-and-done. Here’s how:

Build in data collection. Ask people to register, thank them for attending, and offer to stay in touch — through an app download, a newsletter subscription, etc. Consider interactive event features, too, like a photo booth that prompts attendees to provide their email addresses for photos.
Soft sell. No matter how you collect data through your event, avoid a disruptive, sales-y experience for your attendees. Engaging installations and QR codes leading to interactive digital experiences and sweepstakes are more effective.
Offer genuine value. One-time incentives won’t work toward cultivating a relationship with a contact. They’ll likely cash in and drop off.
Don’t blast. As always, personalized strategic messaging will nurture your lead list far more than generic email blasts after your event.
Be transparent. Make sure attendees understand how their info will be used (or shared) and that their participation is not mandatory.

To find out more, visit Marketing Brew.

4 Tips for Collaborating with TikTok Creators

MAY 1, 2023

64% of TikTok users buy a product after watching creator advertising.

Working with a TikTok creator that aligns with your brand is a way to establish favorability and trust to drive serious results. Here are the 4 elements your influencer content should incorporate:

Ditch the script. Authenticity rules. When it comes to TikTok, it’s important the creator’s own voice is preserved. Marketers should share enough information for the creator without providing a script. And long CTAs should go in the caption.
Find a natural hook. Your TikTok creator partner is successful with audiences because they offer entertainment value. Allow them to work your brand into their existing formats for maximum effect.
Use trends. There’s nothing quite like when a brand is bold (and nimble) enough to capitalize on a TikTok trend in an organic way. You know it when you see it. Work with your creator to identify long-term and short-term trends that match your tone.
Pick the right community. Your perfect-match TikTok creator might be popular in a niche subculture of TikTok that is adjacent to your traditional audience. Encourage them to use the lingo and video formats popular to their community for credibility.

Head over to TikTok for Business to find more insights.

3 Tips to Improve Mobile Ad Creative Performance

APRIL 28, 2023

An excellent mobile ad campaign captures attention and differentiates your brand in a crowded digital landscape. Try these 3 tips to drive performance:

Utilize video to engaged targeted audiences. Globally, users spend 16 hours per week watching digital videos—and over half of consumers want more video content from familiar brands. Visual storytelling has a greater potential to establish emotional connections with your audience than traditional advertising.
Captivate your audience with interactive rich media ads. Rich media ads yield higher engagement rates, conversions, click-throughs, and views. For example, a retargeted dynamic countdown can signal urgency to users about a sale ending soon.
Drive action with interactive shoppable ads. Allowing users to make purchases and browse your products directly through an ad unit creates a seamless, one-click shopping experience.

Read more about how to enhance your mobile ad creative at The Drum.

Why You Should Consider Voice AI for Audio Ads

APRIL 25, 2023

Voice AI tools can create and replicate human-sounding voices to make personalized audio ads quickly and affordably. Here’s why you might consider it:

You can exponentially increase the variations and relevance of your ad creative by using Voice AI to customize details, like the listening platform or weather.
Voice AI may be a more affordable option for small businesses than hiring human voice actors by the hour.
Brands can replicate a real actor’s voice (with written and verbal consent) or engineer a new one with the help of training data.
Voice AI can help with attribution and analysis of phone calls to see if customers saw a certain Facebook or Google ad.

Learn more about Voice AI tech at Marketing Brew.

Emerging Emoji Research 🤓

APRIL 24, 2023

New research confirms that emojis need context. (Maiberger, T., Schindler, D. & Koschate-Fischer, 2023). Data shows that supplemental emojis garner more likes, retweets, clicks, and purchases.

What does this mean in practice?

Essentially, emojis enhance and illuminate the meaning of your message when added to a sentence, but it’s important not to literally replace words with emojis.

For example:

The Daily Carnage is 😅
The Daily Carnage is a life-saver 😅

Two entirely different vibes. 😅

4 Consumer Shopping Trends

APRIL 21, 2023

Shopping behavior is more price-driven these days, with inflation and the cost of living weighing heavily on purchasing decisions. Here’s how consumers are adapting:

Sustainability has become harder to prioritize but remains important. Despite financial challenges and increase in negative mentions on social media, consumers still consider sustainability an important factor in purchasing decisions. In a survey by Gapgemini, 77% of organizations said that their sustainability efforts increased customer loyalty.
Consumers buy more secondhand. Online conversations about secondhand products increased by 21% last year, and more brands are expected to enter the resale market in 2023. Thrift shopping is expected to be a popular alternative in 2023, particularly in the fashion industry.
Off-brand is having a moment. As the cost of living rises, consumers are searching for cheaper alternatives, evidenced by the massively engaging #dupe trend on TikTok, which is especially popular for cosmetics, fashion items, and consumer tech or household products.
Consumers still prioritize convenience. Especially millennials, according to listening data. The pandemic necessitated features like same-day delivery and click-and-collect, and consumers aren’t likely to settle for less moving forward.

Dig in over at at Brandwatch.

5 Elements Every Service Page Needs

APRIL 19, 2023

Your website’s service pages are workhorses. They introduce your signature offering to potential customers and put forth a simple argument: you need this. Good ones have these 5 elements in common:

Long-form, descriptive, benefits-focused copy. Describe everything that’s included in your service or offer, address the problem you service solves, list the positive outcomes of purchase, share why your brand is uniquely qualified to offer this service, and answer any FAQs.
Testimonials or reviews. If it’s great, prove it. Add customer opinions—as quotes, images, or video—along with a list of previous clients if you’re B2B.
Visuals. Depict your service in action with a gallery of photography, demo screenshots, portfolio content, or an informative, introductory video.
Conversion-friendly design. Shoot for easy-to-scan content with meaningful headers, lists, bold CTAs, and short paragraphs. As ever, your site should be accessible, fast, and easy to navigate.
Calls to action (CTAs). If you have more than one service listed on a single page, include a CTA to “checkout” for each of them. If your page is dedicated to just one service, sprinkle “checkout” CTAs throughout. In the case that your audience isn’t primed to buy at this stage, your CTA might be “contact a sales representative” or “get a free consultation.”

Learn more about how to craft high-ranking, converting service pages at Search Engine Land.